Does the pH of Distilled Water Affect the Remineralization Process?
Distilled Water Affect the Remineralization Process
Water is a vital nutrient that provides health benefits for humans and animals, such as good skin and hair, healthy teeth and bones, a stronger immune system and good hydration. One way to obtain pure and soft water is through a high quality reverse osmosis filtration system that removes all contaminants, including minerals. Depending on your needs, you may want to remineralize the resulting water to make it more usable for your purposes.
Adding minerals back to distilled water can improve its taste, hydrate you faster and even help reduce acid reflux. Some studies suggest that remineralizing distilled water is healthier for your body than regular tap water because it contains the right balance of electrolytes and a higher pH.
The remineralization process is very simple. It involves mixing a salt solution into your distilled water, allowing it to sit for several hours and then drinking the water. You can find commercial solutions such as Seachem Equilibrium and Alkaline Buffer that contain calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and zinc to increase your distilled water’s general hardness or carbonate hardness (GH), which increases its pH. These products are safe to use in your fish tank and can help stabilize the GH, KH and ph of your filtered or distilled water.
Does the pH of Distilled Water Affect the Remineralization Process?
It’s also possible to add a small amount of pink Himalayan salt to your distilled water and drink it throughout the day, which is often referred to as sole water. The salt helps to raise the ph of the water and provide trace minerals that are essential for human health. However, the remineralization of your distilled water isn’t as effective as using a commercial product because it takes more time to dissolve the salt into the distilled water.
Many people worry that drinking distilled water makes their bloodstream more acidic, which can cause a host of problems for your health. This is unfounded, as your bloodstream already has a very strong acid that is needed to break down food and absorb nutrients. Distilled water is not going to exacerbate this issue in any way.
As for whether or not distilled water can affect the remineralization process, it depends on how long it has been stored and its temperature. When distilled water is freshly made, it has a neutral pH of 7. As the water ages and becomes exposed to air, it will begin to absorb carbon dioxide, which lowers the ph to below seven. This is a natural process and can be expected, but it will have a minor effect on the remineralization process.
You can test the ph of your distilled water with pH testing strips available at most grocery stores or pharmacy counters. The pH scale is logarithmic, meaning that a lower number means more acidic water. You can also buy a pH meter and test the water yourself, although you will need to clean the electrode before and after testing. Regardless of how you test your water, it’s important to make sure that each and every water change maintains the same ph, KH and GH to avoid stressing your fish and having to do frequent and expensive water changes.
